[mikeb1958]

Originally Posted by TopHat

The Government can listen to your conversations through your phone...did you know that????

...and you think your local mail carrier REALLY works at the Post Office....??? LOL

...and they can read your email too Im sure (as I slowly raise my middle finger...to scratch the side of my nose....)

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

Has anyone taken a hard look at Obama ?? What type of background does he have ??
Who was that supporter of his that got busted a few weeks back ?

Find me one political official that doesn't have a supporter with some dirt on them and I'll eat my FM Liberator... I try not to pay too much attention to that stuff, personally.

As for Obama, he's certainly got the least experience -- but charisma counts for a lot in my book, particularly with the work we need to do to repair our international relations and image, and getting the younger set more involved is a good thing, too. Maybe I'm naive, but perhaps not knowning exactly how things are SUPPOSED to be done, might make it possible to get some things done. People said a lot of the same things about JFK, that are being said about Obama. Honestly I'm torn between the two leading Dem candidates, but truly feel we're better off with either of them as opposed to what we have now --- heck, as skunk said, we're probably better off with Tanknut in office.

(Heck, even the Republicans are saying W doesn't have one bit of interest or curiousity about world events... that ain't good. And the laundry list of plain stupid stuff he has said on the public stage is truly embarrassing. That said, we need to focus on the homefront first I think. I still am in shock that this guy got elected... twice. My only solace is I did my part to prevent it. )

[TopHat]

Originally Posted by mikeb1958

...and they can read your email too Im sure (as I slowly raise my middle finger...to scratch the side of my nose....)

Is that inside or outside the nostril? Slowly I turn...inch by inch.... LOL


Yeah, and Skunky is really a CIA operative planted within the forum to weed out the subversives amongst us...... or to act like "Spies Like Us".


And please vote for tank nut...he'll make Bush look like a genius......

[planejunky]

Originally Posted by Raven

A few thoughts:

Regardless of who wins, the Democrats or Republicans, we are unlikely to see dramatic changes in how things are run.

Absolutely right mate. We had 18 years of the Conservative Party, and despite over 10 years since they were ousted by Tony Bliar's Labour Party, things ain't gotten any better. We're taxed to point of destruction to pay for his and Dubya's adventure in Iraq (that had very little public support here in the UK) whilst watching our schools and health care system fall apart. It's all just political Bravo Sierra, they all promise much, but all fail to deliver.

Sorry to rant guys, I've just had enough of them all and realise we need a party that does right by the country rather than themselves. I just hope you guys stateside do the right thing when you go the polls later this year, because how you vote has a global effect. We don't need another cold war here in Europe but Uncle George seems hell bent on creating one. Yes I miss the jets of the 70's and 80's era, but don't miss having nukes targeted on my home.

[planejunky]

Originally Posted by TopHat

Yeah, and Skunky is really a CIA operative planted within the forum to weed out the subversives amongst us...... or to act like "Spies Like Us".


And please vote for tank nut...he'll make Bush look like a genius......

[mikeb1958]

Originally Posted by TopHat

Is that inside or outside the nostril? Slowly I turn...inch by inch.... LOL


And please vote for tank nut...he'll make Bush look like a genius......

On the outside...just like that Seinfeld episode where his girlfriend is in another car next to him at a stop light. From her angle it looks like his finger is up to the wrist picking his nose...LOL! Actually he was scratching his nose from the outside. So...I guess the answer is Tophat, just depends which side you were looking at it.
...and YES...Tank Nut for Presidente! More diecasts! More diecasts my man.

[TopHat]

When are you going to change your avatar back?

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by TopHat

When are you going to change your avatar back?

Yeah... we want the old one back (not the goofy one... but the babe one).

[TopHat]

Babe...babe...babe...!!!


Yeah, the goofy one was Lain.....

[Raven]

A few more thoughts...

- I don't think that Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton will make anyone love the USA more than John McCain. It is what people base their perceptions on that will determine their feelings for the U.S. Government and U.S. foreign policy. People love our culture, people feel our culture is evil. People think we are invasion happy cowboys, people look to us as the world's policeman when things get tough (or protect them from communist invasion). Not everyone in every place will like you (or even all the time) and as a nation we cannot be concerned about our popularity at any given moment. We need to make sure that we do the right things for the right reasons with the focus on the long-term.

- Say, President Obama pulls our troops out of Iraq and Afganistan (my bet is he can't and won't). #1 - The USA is seen as a weak, defeated nation throughout the middle east, #2 - Iran becomes the new power in the middle east, #3 - Oil prices jump and the world economy slumps even more, #4 - Terriorist activity is likely to increase, #5 Russia or China potentially moves to be the big player in the middle east... it only gets worse from there. We have paid the price in Iraq and I trust (hope) that the worst is over for our troops - I doubt we will just walk away from such a costly endeavour (regardless of how or why we got there).

- Politicians are generally lazy (beyond getting elected and lining their pockets) and don't like to make costly or unpopular decisions (unless forced to do so). War in Iraq or not - schools still perform badly, bridges and highways fall apart, heathcare is a mess, children live in poverty, Social Security is headed for a disaster. These problems don't exist for lack of resources but lack of political (and national) will.

- Politicians are also just reacting to the average American and their inability to make hard decisions (and general lack of interest). We are part of the problem - most people don't want to solve the problem with Social Security or Healthcare, they just want to watch TV and veg out...If we demanded more from our political leaders beyond empty promises during an election cycle, we might actually see some results.

I will stop now before I really get going!